Trevecca student meets Ed Sheeran

It took her 10 hours, but Britney Kent is happy she spent all that time decorating a pumpkin after getting to meet Ed Sheeran.

“I was excited about the idea of winning, but also super nervous because I didn’t think I would win. And I was kind of embarrassed that I spent 10 hours painting a pumpkin that would end up rotting. But it made it worth it once I won,” said Kent.

Kent, a junior at Trevecca last month won a 107.5 radio contest that required contestants to decorate a pumpkin to look like Ed Sheeran, a singer/songwriter. As the winner, she got free tickets and a meet and greet pass.

She got the call while in class at Trevecca.

“They happened to call me at 1:45 when I was in class, so I ran out of class and answered the phone and was screaming in the hall as everyone was confused at what was happening. I yelled to my class that I won the tickets while on the phone with the radio station. And then after I got out of class I went back to my apartment and one of my roommates rode with me to pick up my tickets. And while on our way there we heard the recording of me on the radio. Then I got my tickets, and everyone congratulated me there,” said Kent.

The inspiration for Kent’s pumpkin was Ed Sheeran’s newest album cover Divided.

“The album cover is primarily blue with a lot of strokes and raw brush strokes. I also made his face so you could see the brush strokes,” said Kent.

Kent has always admired Ed Sheeran as an artist.

“He is one of the most talented musicians I’ve seen live. His whole performance was just him, a guitar, and a loop petal. He recorded all the beats and vocals in front of us and was able to captivate a full arena without a band to back him up. He also brings and sense of humility to an industry that is too often about fame and fortune. He is a very down to earth guy and doesn’t believe in letting people pay to meet him so all of his meet and greets come from contests or having connections in the industry,” said Kent.

She had trouble containing her excitement on the day of the concert.

“I must have screamed it 10 times at least to my bosses that I was meeting Ed that night,” said Kent.

She recalls every detail of that night.

“We went downtown and there was a pumpkin patch outside of Bridgestone with a lot of the pumpkins displayed, so I got a picture. Then we met Ed’s tour manager to get the meet and greet sticker. Then with about 20 other people we went through security and were led to the basement of Bridgestone,” she said.

While waiting there Kent talked with a woman from Big Machine Records who encouraged her to apply for an internship with the company.

“And then when it came to meet Ed they led us one by one around a corner and he was standing there, and he smiled and asked if he could hug me,” she said. “We got a picture and then he signed my vinyl.”

Kent ranks the concert as one of the best five she’s ever seen.

“And I’ve been to well over 100.”

One thing Kent wants to emphasize from this experience is that famous people are just people.

“Famous people are just that people. Yeah, it’s cool to say I met Ed Sheeran, but through this, I’ve realized he’s just a person, a really cool person yeah, but still a person. I think it’s easy to idolize artists, but it’s important to also recognize their humanity and not to freak out over meeting them,” said Kent.